The study objective was to identify the psychosocial correlates of recreational screen time among adolescents. Data collection took place in four high schools from the Chaudière-Appalaches region (Quebec, Canada) from late April to mid-May 2021. A total of 258 French-speaking adolescents (69.8% between 15 and 16 years and 66.3% girls) answered an online questionnaire based on the Reasoned Action Approach. Recreational screen time was measured using the French version of a validated questionnaire. Adolescents reported a mean of 5 h and 52 min/day of recreational screen time. Recreational screen time was associated with being a boy (β = 0.33; p < 0.0001) and intention to limit recreational screen time to a maximum of 2 h/day (β = -0.15; p = 0.0001); this model explained 30% of the variance in behavior. Intention to limit recreational screen time to a maximum of 2 h/day in the next month was associated with attitude (β = 0.49; p < 0.0001), self-identity (β = 0.33; p < 0.0001), being a boy (β = -0.21; p = 0.0109), perceived behavioral control (β = 0.18; p = 0.0016), and injunctive norm (β = 0.17; p < 0.0001); this model explained 70% of the variance in intention. This study identified avenues to design public health interventions aimed at lowering recreational screen time among this population.
Keywords: Reasoned Action Approach; adolescent; concurrent screen use; correlates; screen time.